Noble Supply & Logistics

B-414511.3 Nov 06, 2017 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights Noble Supply and Logistics, of Rockland, Massachusetts, protests the award of a modification of a blanket purchase agreement (BPA) to W.W. Grainger, Inc., of Lake Forest, Illinois, under request for quotations (RFQ) No. QSRA-RFQ-17001, issued by the General Services Administration (GSA) for support of GSA Retail Operations 4th Party Logistics efforts at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam and Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickman in Hawaii. The protester challenges the reasonableness of the agency's past performance evaluations. We deny the protest. We deny the protest. View Decision DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This redacted version has been approved for public release. Decision Matter of:  Noble Supply and Logistics File:  B-414511.3 Date:  November 6, 2017 Gary J. Campbell, Esq.,Michael A. Hordell, Esq., Jeffrey Pedersen, Esq., and G. Matthew Koehl, Esq., Pepper Hamilton LLP, for the protester. Ariel E. Debin, Esq., Shaunna Bailey, Esq., and Jonathan S. Aronie, Esq., Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP, for W.W. Grainger, Inc., the intervenor. Alissa J. K. Schrider, Esq., and Tyler J. Mullen, Esq., General Services Administration, for the agency. Kenneth Kilgour, Esq., and Laura Eyester, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST Protest is denied where the record does not demonstrate that, even with the errors in the agency's past performance evaluation, the protester would have had a substantial chance of receiving the award, and thus there is no basis for finding prejudice. DECISION Noble Supply and Logistics, of Rockland, Massachusetts, protests the award of a modification of a blanket purchase agreement (BPA) to W.W. Grainger, Inc., of Lake Forest, Illinois, under request for quotations (RFQ) No. QSRA-RFQ-17001, issued by the General Services Administration (GSA) for support of GSA Retail Operations 4th Party Logistics efforts at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam and Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickman in Hawaii.  The protester challenges the reasonableness of the agency's past performance evaluations. We deny the protest. BACKGROUND The RFQ, issued to holders of the GSA Enterprise Supply Chain Solutions/Retail Operations Pacific Northwest-Arctic Region BPA, anticipated that the GSA would modify an existing BPA to expand the scope to include office products to support GSA's Retail Operations 4th Party Logistics efforts at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam and Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickman in Hawaii.  Agency Report (AR), Tab 2, RFQ, amend. 4 (RFQ) at 4.  The BPA modification would be issued to the firm whose quotation represented the best value to the government, considering price and two factors:  specific technical expertise and past performance.  RFQ at 4, 14-15.  Specific technical expertise was more important than past performance, and the two factors together were significantly more important than price.  Id. at 15.  With respect to past performance, the agency would consider reports in the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS) and information obtained from other sources if these assessment reports "cover[ed] the three (3) calendar years prior to the RFQ closing date."  Id. at 17.  In addition, the quotation was to include a listing of certain government supply contracts "with a period of performance occurring during the three (3) calendar years preceding the quotation closing date."  Id. at 17-18.  The RFQ provided that past performance would be evaluated for relevance using one of the following four rankings:  highly relevant, relevant, somewhat relevant, and not relevant.  Id. at 19.  The quality of past performance would be assessed as outstanding, satisfactory, poor, or neutral.  Id. at 19-20.  Outstanding quality past performance was defined as: Based on the BPA-Holder's performance record, the Government has high confidence the BPA-Holder will successfully perform the required effort.  The BPA-Holder's previously awarded contract(s) are relevant to highly relevant.  The BPA-Holder's performance of previously awarded relevant contract(s) met contractual requirements and exceeded many to the Government's benefit.  Performance of completed contracts/orders either was consistently of the highest quality or exhibited a trend of becoming so. Id. at 19.  Satisfactory quality past performance was accomplished with a few or very minor problems, and performance of completed contracts/orders was consistently of adequate or better quality or exhibited a trend of becoming so.  Id.  After assessing the relevance and quality of a BPA holder's past performance, the agency would assign one of the following performance confidence assessments:  substantial confidence, satisfactory confidence, neutral confidence, limited confidence, or no confidence.  Id.